Eren tries not to gape as he looks around. The building itself isn't anything impressive, having stuck with the bland monotony that seems to permeate the decor of all military buildings, but Eren can't help but reach out his fingers to trace along the walls as they walk.
Gunter is ahead of them, telling the group of new soldiers about what to expect once they've settled, and Eren vacillates between hanging on his every word and ignoring the human completely to gaze in wonder at his surroundings.
After all this time...he's finally made it to the Survey Corps.
We've all made it, he thinks as he looks over his humans. There are many missing, of course, and while it sends pangs of longing through his heart, he contents himself with the knowledge that they're safer. Those who decided upon the Military Police and the Garrison might be far from him, but at least they're far from most of the danger as well.
The building is emptier than he had expected it to be, too. But then, everyone must be busy with their important missions. He wonders if there's a surveying team outside the walls right now, working their hardest to save humanity.
Eren grins. He can't wait to be a part of one of those teams...
"And this," Gunter says, drawing Eren from his thoughts. His hand rests on the handle of a heavy looking door and the man shoots them a quick grin as he pushes it open, "is what it's all about."
Eren, in his eagerness to see everything there is to know about the Survey Corps and its headquarters, happens at this moment to be in the very front of the crowd. As such, he is also the first one to see what Gunter was referring to. The glare of sunlight is harsh after being inside for so long, but once it fades, his stomach sinks in his gut like a stone.
The eight-meter from their exam lies bolted to the center of a wide courtyard.
--strapped down, unable to escape--
Humans stand around it, murmuring to each other.
--muttering, always muttering, always communicating in ways he couldn't understand--
He watches, breath caught in his throat as one of the humans picks up a long pike. It has a wicked-looking tip on the end of it, and it scrapes against the table when the human retrieves it.
--tables and racks and drawers, all filled with strange, cruel instruments. Always worse than the last. Which ones would the humans use today?--
The human hefts the pike.
--the metal always glints wickedly in the wake of those harsh lights as the human turns it around in its hands--
And jams it into the Titan's eye.
--pain. Such immense pain. What could they possibly be gaining from these tortures?--
The Titan screams. Its desperate bellow makes the walls shake and the ground rumble beneath them.
--his throat hurts from the strength of his wailing. He barely remembers what it was like to be quiet anymore--
"--ren! Eren! Eren can you hear me? What happened? Eren!" Armin's face swims into view, pale and worried.
Mikasa touches his face and he sees her there, too.
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Ein Riese, der Fliegen Wollte
FanfictionHe sees the human many more times since then. It seems as if the herd doesn't venture out without it. He wonders if that one is the pack-leader. It seems logical, but humans are not always creatures of logic. He forces back memories of that one...
